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    celebrant life | love | weddings

    Thanks for sharing the love!

    Thank you for such a professional and sensitive job you did in preparing for and delivering your role at my mother’s funeral on Monday. Almost every person at the service remarked on how heartfelt your words were. I completely agree … Read More

    Rich

    Claire is fun, passionate and reliable.

    Max and Steph

    Thank you for conducting such a moving & fitting service for P last week. It was a great celebration of her life, and your words & overall guiding of the event were perfect. I know she would have approved.

    Jason

    Before dad’s funeral my husband wasn’t convinced by my choice of a non religious ceremony, he felt it was disrespectful or lacking somehow. As it is he was so moved he has decided that he wants a celebrant rather than … Read More

    Julie

    Sincere thanks, you helped make what could have beenone of the worst days of my life something to cherish.

    David

    Thank you so very much for the most lovely service that you gave us today. My Mum would have loved it I know. Thank you also for making everything so easy for me from start to finish. I truly appreciate … Read More

    Lorna

    The ceremony was just ‘S and R’ to a tee: casual but formal; serious but fun.

    Sue

    Claire conducted our magical day. From meeting her to saying our beautiful scripted vows she was amazing. From start to finish. Her personality and love of her job is inspiring, the way she understands each person from just a few … Read More

    Timmy and Natalie

    Claire was a joy from first to last and the feedback from our guests echoes this perfectly.

    Guy and Anna

    Claire Bradford helped make our wedding day very special. We live in Canada, so planning from afar had the potential to be difficult but Claire was patient, helpful and in the end delivered a wonderful wedding ceremony for us. She … Read More

    James and Tracy

    Part of the Sussex Wedding Collective Weddings in West Sussex Approved Supplier LGBT friendly 150 square FPC logo 150 square
    I've been in Spain for several weeks now and, even I've been in Spain for several weeks now and, even though I’ve been having lessons, most of what I hear around me goes right over my head, to be honest! I've been learning to sit with it (somewhat impatiently at times!) and work out meaning with a combination of the few words I understand and the context, gestures, expression or... just good old Google Translate!! It's frustrating – I can get the gist, but I miss so much of the nuance and feeling. The other morning I gave myself a break from trying to understand Spanish and was listening to a podcast in English. I followed every word and didn't just understand their dictionary meaning – those words conveyed the speaker's experience and feelings in such a way that I was completely with him in those experiences. It was beautiful – and refreshing too! What a privilege it is to have a lifetime of using a language so that you know it deeply and can use it and hear it without trying hard! Years of reading books and poetry, having heartfelt conversations, of declaring our love with it. All of this experience gives us the tools to truly understand not just what people are saying, but what they're feeling, what they're not saying, and what matters most to them. It made me realise how much I've missed my celebrancy work while I've been away. I've been working on weddings that are coming up, which is always brilliant, but the part I've missed the most is the part I bang on about all the time when I'm training celebrants – listening, listening, listening. To turn up, a virtual stranger, on someone's doorstep and then, a cup of tea later, to be chest-deep in their experiences of grief and their memories of a special person. To be hanging on every word as a couple unpacks what getting married means to them. And not only to be able to listen, but to share their experience through what they are saying (and sometimes what they are not saying). Really listening is the difference between hearing someone's story and truly receiving it. And that's where the magic of a meaningful ceremony begins. #Celebrant #weddingcelebrant #funeralcelebrant #listening 📸 @alvan_nee on @unsplash
    Just in case… you’re up to your eyes with wedmin, Just in case… you’re up to your eyes with wedmin, you’re trying to organise a funeral whilst dealing with all the feelings, or you’re just in need of a little moment of loveliness… I give you these beautiful cows from the Asturian mountains! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! Happy weekend xxx #celebrant #celebrantontour #adoseofnature #cows #asturias #covadonga #entrelagos #andbreathe
    For the first part of our working trip to Spain, m For the first part of our working trip to Spain, my husband Richard and I had morning language lessons, and I miss them soooo much now they’re finished. These pics are of me with my fabulous Spanish teacher, Claudia, and some of the other gorgeous students I shared my language journey with. This experience of learning has made me think deeply about language itself – not just the mechanics of it, but what words actually carry – especially in my celebrant work. All our experiences, emotions, memories and cultures are tied up in language, but the compromise contained in even the most simple words astounds me. When I tell you I saw a cow today, you know what I mean, but you’ve probably never seen my cow – we’re already working with a very generalised idea despite its apparently specific meaning. As a celebrant, my job is to navigate this beautiful impossibility every day (no pressure then!!) We celebrants help people find words for experiences that feel almost too big or too precious for language. How do you capture 40 years of happy marriage in a eulogy? How do you help a couple translate the feeling of knowing they’ve found ‘the one’ into their wedding vows? As celebrants, we’re translators – not between languages, but between the vastness of human experience and the necessarily limited tools of language. We help people express the feeling of being alive, of loving deeply, of loss that cuts to the bone. There’s an instant bond when someone recognises that you’ve truly understood what they’re trying to say – when the words you’ve found capture not just the facts of their story, but its emotional truth. That’s when language stops being an approximation and becomes a bridge – it’s the goal for every ceremony, and the highest praise when it’s recognised. #celebrant #celebrantontour #funeralcelebrant #weddingcelebrant #spanishlessons #languagelessons @lacunzaihss @claudia_okuyama
    Hola y… lo siento! It’s been blooming ages since I Hola y… lo siento! It’s been blooming ages since I last posted – have you missed me?! I haven’t fallen off the planet, I promise, but I have landed in another country for a little while! I’m currently in beautiful San Sebastián, learning Spanish at Lacunza and soaking up as much of the culture (and croquetas) as I can. Today I found out that 23rd April is a bit of a triple celebration here in Spain … It’s Día del Libro – Book Day – and Sant Jordi – St George’s Day. And here, these two things are celebrated in a rather magical way: people exchange books 📚 and roses 🌹 with loved ones. What’s not to love?! The day was chosen because it’s the anniversary of both Cervantes’ and Shakespeare’s deaths — two literary legends on the same date. It made the book-loving celebrant in me do a happy little dance 💃 Back in England, St George’s Day usually passes by in a bit of a blink, and World Book Day often just means scrabbling around for a costume for your kid to wear to school. But here, they’re both celebrated with such joy – and on the same day! It made me reflect on how we can honour the everyday magic of life as individuals and as a community. As if that wasn’t enough, today is also Spanish Language Day, which feels extra perfect as I keep fumbling my way through verb tenses and new vocabulary, cheered on constantly by my ever-patient and creative teacher, Claudia. So today, why not gift a book or a rose (or both!), learn some Spanish words or just take a moment to celebrate stories, language, and connection — wherever you are in the world 💕 #DíaDelLibro #SantJordi #SpanishLanguageDay #BooksAndRoses #StGeorgesDay #SanSebastián #LearningSpanish #LacunzaLife #CreatingCeremony #CeremonyInEverydayLife #CulturalTraditions #SpanishCulture #LanguageLearning @lacunzaihss
    Turn your radio on! I was interviewed this morni Turn your radio on! I was interviewed this morning about pandemic funerals as part of the marking of the fifth anniversary of lockdown. My interview will be going out as part of news bulletins on commercial stations across the UK, so tune in and you might hear me in your kitchen, your car or your office today! #covidfunerals #funeralcelebrant #independentcelebrant #covidfiveyearson #funeral #worthingcelebrant #sussexcelebrant #ontheradio
    The gorgeous Dome is back open for weddings and I’ The gorgeous Dome is back open for weddings and I’m v excited to be going to their wedding fayre this Sunday, from 11-2. What better thing to do on a sunny seaside Sunday than to pop in to the Dome and say hello? There’s also a bonus screening of Four Weddings and a Funeral at 3 if you fancy it (and who wouldn’t?!?) Fun fact : my first ever date, at the age of 14, was to go to the cinema (in Birmingham, which was home then) to see ‘Wish You Were Here’, which was filmed at the Dome. I’d never been to the Dome or to Worthing then, but I fell in love with it! @domeweddingsandevents @greenfingersflorist @orlajamesrings @rosebudmakeup @vpphotographysussex @kellyscakes_ #sussexweddingvenue #weddingvenue #worthingwedding #worthingcelebrant #weddingcelebrant
    Well it’s a new moon, it’s the end of the year and Well it’s a new moon, it’s the end of the year and it’s the start of a whole new phase… Our youngest daughter took off to NZ about an hour ago on a one way ticket. Waaaah!!! And also… yay for her!!! (But right now, mostly waaaah!) Cheers, you lovely lot. Here’s to adventure, going outside your comfort zones, and new beginnings… (as well as being kind to yourself, trusting your gut, and shunning all the ‘new year new you’ bullshit)🥂 Lots of fizz, crisps and comfort films xxxx #newbeginnings #newmoon #newstart #newyear #newyearoldandfantasticyou
    I’ve always been intrigued by how people met. Wh I’ve always been intrigued by how people met. When I conduct funerals for people in their 80s and beyond, they often met their partner at a dance. Fast forward to the 90s and 2000s, and MSN Messenger played Cupid for a while, before dating apps made their entrance. Now, a huge majority of the couples I wed have met online. What I do notice, though, is the amount of chance or glitches that helped the tech get them together. I’ve heard stories of someone checking their profile whilst waiting to pick someone up from the airport, thus seeing a match who otherwise wouldn’t have shown up. There have been a few tales of matches who flashed up despite being way outside the filters set for distance, height or other specification that had been given. And several where they’d only logged in to delete their account, to find the person they would marry come up on their screen. 🥰 This stuff makes me happy. It also makes me believe in magic, even in our high tech world ✨ This infographic by @eeagli shows the real data in a beautiful form. It’s almost hypnotic! I met my husband at work (he was my boss!!) How did you meet your partner, if you have one? I love these stories - please share!! #sussexcelebrant #celebrant #worthingcelebrant #funeralcelebrant #independentcelebrant #weddingcelebrant #meetcute
    It was an honour to be back at HD Tribe yesterday It was an honour to be back at HD Tribe yesterday to lead the Christmas memorial service for the third year running. The memorial is always held in Grief Awareness Week, and this year’s theme for the week (set by @thegoodgrieftrust ) is ‘Shine a Light’. Christmastime can be very hard for those who are mourning a loved one when expectations are for fun and festive spirit. We talked about how your light doesn’t need to be like the Coca Cola truck has come into town - it can be a glowing ember kindled by a kind word, some practical support, or some shared favourite memories. Fittingly, we lit candles of course! And then retired to share mulled wine and mince pies before setting out into the darkness, a little more aglow than before… 🥰
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    Creating Ceremony

    Claire Bradford

    Worthing, West Sussex, UK

    07929764162

    claire@creatingceremony.com

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